Steaks in cast iron

bigmikej

I have read about people who sear their steaks on the egg in a cast iron skillet. I was wondering if you use any butter/oil in the pan or if the seasoned pan and the fat from the steak is enough. Also, if you do add butter, don't you have to add some sort of oil as well to keep the butter from burning? Going to try this tonight and would appreciate the help![p]Thanks!

WessB

bigmikej,
The Naked Whiz has a great write up ( along with many other great things ) on the Trex method of cookin a steak, and I do believe it goes through the details of searing in a cast iron pan...check it out. I have never persoanlly tried the pan method yet....[p]Wess
[ul][li]Whiz`s[/ul]

bigmikej

WessB,
Thanks, but apparently his site is not currently up. I will try it again later. Appreciate the help!

WessB

bigmikej,
Just click on the link I added, it works for me....

bigmikej

WessB,
Not working for me. I also have his site saved in my favorites and that one does not work either. But I just typed his main site in manually and got in that way. Thanks!

The Naked Whiz

bigmikej,
If I recall correctly, in Alton Brown's first episode of Good Eats, "Steak Your Claim", he did that on the stove/oven. He coats the steak lightly with canola oil and puts the steak into a dry pan. Let it go for 30 seconds, then turn. Another 30 seconds then put it into the oven to finish roasting. Here's a link:[p]TNW
[ul][li]Good Eats version of steak in a cast iron pan....[/ul]

TRex

bigmikej,[p]Madmax is the guy you need to talk to. He sears his steaks in a cast iron pan with a butter/garlic mixture ala Ruth's Chris. He should respond to this thread soon.[p]TRex

mad max beyond eggdome

bigmikej,
here i am. . . . and here's what i do. . .i follow t-rex pretty much to a T, with the exception that as the egg is heating up, i have this old cast iron pan that i put on the grid in the egg. . .and let it get up to 750 degrees plus along with the egg. . .[p]i have done the steaks two different ways. . .our number 1 way is to coat the steak in olive oil, kosher salt and dizzy pig cow lick rub (or black pepper). .. throw the steaks right on the cast iron (no additional oil is necessary between the seasoning and the oil on the steak). . .do the 90 second per side sear, then remove the steaks and the cast iron pan. . ..let the steaks rest and dwell per t-rex. . .we like the uniform crust that searing this way gives the steaks. ...[p]i have also done them where i throw a chunk of butter on that cast iron, and then the steaks. . kind a like ruth chris. .. .you get a lot of flame and spitting from that butter. . .there has been lots of talk on the forum here about whether or not you need gee (purified butter) to avoid the burning milk products at those high temps. ..to be honest, i haven't used purified butter, and the steaks taste fine, but i'm not an expert on this part of things. .. [p]finally, you can do the steaks as first suggested, and then lay a big pad of butter (or butter mixed with some garlic/parsly, etc) on the steak while its in dwell mode. . this will also give you a nice butter infustion... . [p]all i can tell you for sure is, my family has really taken a liken to the trex steaks with the cast iron sear. . .it has become our method of choice. . .[p]enjoy

Hooter

bigmikej,[p]I do mine two different ways...[p]1) Just like Mad Max[p]2) Without the cast iron pan. Build your fire, get it going real good, then throw the steaks right on the wood. Cook for about a minute per side, then take off and follow T-rex method. Sounds crazy but works well.